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Brian Swartz · 05-08-2018, 12:03 AM

Q1 Rankings

1. Mateo Kaspar(30, FRA) - 15,310

Mateo has shown the heart of a champion in the early going this year. He's unblemished so far, but it has been far from easy. An epic AO final saw Dudwadkar push him to 8-6 in the 5th, and both hardcourt Masters went the distance as well. Indian Wells was a 6-4 triumph of Prince Karl, and Dudwadkar was back for a tiebreak in Miami. But each time the King found a way to win.

2. Ritwik Dudwadkar(28, SRI) - 13,350

That Australian final would have put Ritwik back in the #1 spot for several weeks had he managed to pull it off. It was close(200-194 in points) and he served well(25 aces) but it wasn't enough. He's doing more than enough to stay in the runners-up spot so far.

3. Karl Kaspar(24, FRA) - 7,800

A steady rise for the Prince, and more of the same expected. The hill to climb is a large one though. His record against Dudwadkar is 12 matches, 12 defeats -- including one in the WTC already this year and a match in Paris last season. They've been close recently, but until he starts winning those consistently he's staying right where he is.

4. Dick Blake(26, USA) - 5,600

Steady results for the already-declining phoenix; Blake was a semifinalist at both IW and Miami, taking advantage of the home crowd.

5. Gilberto Chinaglia(26, ITA) - 5,330

Soon we'll see if the Italian can repeat last year's clay-court dominance, or if he's just a one-hit wonder.

6. Hsuang-tsung Teng(29, NZL) - 4,400

After Australia he and Dircx began to focus on doubles exclusively, so it's over for Teng in terms of these rankings.

7. Cristian Castegali(26, MEX) - 3,910

A couple of quarterfinals in the big events have Castegali continuing to show himself a steady player.

8. Gregory Mackenzie(28, USA) - 3,835

Hasn't looked particularly great this year(just the one QF at Indian Wells), but so far just enough to keep him ahead of the pack.

9. Tristan Allende(25, USA) - 3,660

Hard to complain about a SF showing at AO(l. Dudwadkar); a couple of QFs on his home turf weren't spectacular, but not terrible either. Not the explosion I thought we might see, but the rise of Karl has made it tougher to break through any further. He's still a comer.

10. Kenneth Brasher(24, GBR) - 3,395

Continuing to play WAY above his head.

11. Stuart Pargeter(26, USA)

And this guy's still the opposite. Third round in Australia(l. Edleman in five sets). R3 in Indian Wells(l. Sorel??) and R2 in Miami(l. Svajnovic). All close defeats, but only one at most is excusable. He did win the Rotterdam 500 in between there, but that doesn't come close to compensating for this kind of epic choke-job. Pargeter is frittering away what should be one of his best seasons.

12. Hamal Sbai(26, MOR)

Gradually showing signs. He's supposed to be a quality player on clay, so let's see him demonstrate it this year and vault into the Top 10 finally.

14. Hugo Cordova(25, USA)

Over 3k points. That's rather astonishing - there have been times when you barely can find 10 guys at that level. This is as many as I've ever seen, and it was more before Dircx plummeted past. It's really tough to bash your way further up here, as multiple players have and are discovering. For Cordova, he's up another three spots in the early months, continuing his gradual ascent.

17. Veini Aikio(25, FIN)

Perhaps hitting the wall now.

18. Serge Cardone(26, FRA)

Also down a couple spots.

20. Lucas Kaspar(24, FRA)

+2.

21. Adam Hagans(23, GBR)

Holding steady, unlike his countryman Brasher who can do no wrong.

22. Sushant Chiba(22, SRI)

Not up a huge amount in terms of position(was 24th), but a four-set loss to Sbai in the Australian 3rd round was followed by making a round better at Indian Wells, then his first QF in Miami -- where he beat Svajnovic and then #8 Mackenzie in a third-set tiebreak. That could prove to be a defining, spring-board upset for Chiba. It did put him on the WTC team, where he contributed to a 4-1 win over Italy that put Sri Lanka into the knockout rounds. A loss, and we would have been sent out in group play with France the victors.

23. Leo Kaspar(23, FRA)

Still moving upo.

24. Stanley Edleman(22, USA)

Stanley leapt above Chiba for a month or so thanks to a run to the Acapulco(500) final - he's done treading water apparently and joining the upwards push.

25. Esteban Cortina(25, ESP)

26. Chalerm Prachaub(22, THA)

A couple of early-season trips to 250 semis have Prachuab the third wheel now in the Edleman class. Svajnovic, not so much -- it's all he can do to stay in the Top 50 these days.

28. Jacek Andrejova(22, CZE)

A new one here -- the Czech Republic perhaps making a return? It's almost all Challengers for young Jacek, so we'll see how well he sticks.

31. Chad Duncan(31, GBR)

Down from 23rd already. Not all of the Brits finding it easy going here .

32. Prakash Mooljee(32, SRI)

Sinking, but new management is focusing more on doubles. He's got himself back on the national team there at Chiba's expense.

34. Mike Rhodes(21, PHI)

Holding just outside, although he was up to 32nd briefly.

390. Anil Mehul(43, SRI)

Briefly made it back into the Top 100 with some good WTC doubles results. Holding in singles and now slipping to the lower futures tiers. And of course now less than two years to go for training.

105(J). Amrik Kasaravalli(16, SRI)

Down 40 spots but it's not that unusual for juniors here. So far in tier-3 he has one final and a couple of QFs to show for it. I'm also experimenting with a new training approach with him. I'm going for a 'smoother' training path - more even skill/service at the start with the gap between them gradually widening. Based on what I've seen from other players(Sbai's struggles, big servers moving up quickly) I think this will help get through the challenger ranks a little better. No change to what I'll do for players once they reach the top, it's just a question of how best to do things while they are getting there. I'm also emphasizing clay a little more as that tends to decline in top player -- gotta practice where the best are and most of the year athat's on hardcourts. So we'll see how that works out.

05-08-2018, 12:03 AM	#781
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Q1 Rankings 1. Mateo Kaspar(30, FRA) - 15,310 Mateo has shown the heart of a champion in the early going this year. He's unblemished so far, but it has been far from easy. An epic AO final saw Dudwadkar push him to 8-6 in the 5th, and both hardcourt Masters went the distance as well. Indian Wells was a 6-4 triumph of Prince Karl, and Dudwadkar was back for a tiebreak in Miami. But each time the King found a way to win. 2. Ritwik Dudwadkar(28, SRI) - 13,350 That Australian final would have put Ritwik back in the #1 spot for several weeks had he managed to pull it off. It was close(200-194 in points) and he served well(25 aces) but it wasn't enough. He's doing more than enough to stay in the runners-up spot so far. 3. Karl Kaspar(24, FRA) - 7,800 A steady rise for the Prince, and more of the same expected. The hill to climb is a large one though. His record against Dudwadkar is 12 matches, 12 defeats -- including one in the WTC already this year and a match in Paris last season. They've been close recently, but until he starts winning those consistently he's staying right where he is. 4. Dick Blake(26, USA) - 5,600 Steady results for the already-declining phoenix; Blake was a semifinalist at both IW and Miami, taking advantage of the home crowd. 5. Gilberto Chinaglia(26, ITA) - 5,330 Soon we'll see if the Italian can repeat last year's clay-court dominance, or if he's just a one-hit wonder. 6. Hsuang-tsung Teng(29, NZL) - 4,400 After Australia he and Dircx began to focus on doubles exclusively, so it's over for Teng in terms of these rankings. 7. Cristian Castegali(26, MEX) - 3,910 A couple of quarterfinals in the big events have Castegali continuing to show himself a steady player. 8. Gregory Mackenzie(28, USA) - 3,835 Hasn't looked particularly great this year(just the one QF at Indian Wells), but so far just enough to keep him ahead of the pack. 9. Tristan Allende(25, USA) - 3,660 Hard to complain about a SF showing at AO(l. Dudwadkar); a couple of QFs on his home turf weren't spectacular, but not terrible either. Not the explosion I thought we might see, but the rise of Karl has made it tougher to break through any further. He's still a comer. 10. Kenneth Brasher(24, GBR) - 3,395 Continuing to play WAY above his head. 11. Stuart Pargeter(26, USA) And this guy's still the opposite. Third round in Australia(l. Edleman in five sets). R3 in Indian Wells(l. Sorel??) and R2 in Miami(l. Svajnovic). All close defeats, but only one at most is excusable. He did win the Rotterdam 500 in between there, but that doesn't come close to compensating for this kind of epic choke-job. Pargeter is frittering away what should be one of his best seasons. 12. Hamal Sbai(26, MOR) Gradually showing signs. He's supposed to be a quality player on clay, so let's see him demonstrate it this year and vault into the Top 10 finally. 14. Hugo Cordova(25, USA) Over 3k points. That's rather astonishing - there have been times when you barely can find 10 guys at that level. This is as many as I've ever seen, and it was more before Dircx plummeted past. It's really tough to bash your way further up here, as multiple players have and are discovering. For Cordova, he's up another three spots in the early months, continuing his gradual ascent. 17. Veini Aikio(25, FIN) Perhaps hitting the wall now. 18. Serge Cardone(26, FRA) Also down a couple spots. 20. Lucas Kaspar(24, FRA) +2. 21. Adam Hagans(23, GBR) Holding steady, unlike his countryman Brasher who can do no wrong. 22. Sushant Chiba(22, SRI) Not up a huge amount in terms of position(was 24th), but a four-set loss to Sbai in the Australian 3rd round was followed by making a round better at Indian Wells, then his first QF in Miami -- where he beat Svajnovic and then #8 Mackenzie in a third-set tiebreak. That could prove to be a defining, spring-board upset for Chiba. It did put him on the WTC team, where he contributed to a 4-1 win over Italy that put Sri Lanka into the knockout rounds. A loss, and we would have been sent out in group play with France the victors. 23. Leo Kaspar(23, FRA) Still moving upo. 24. Stanley Edleman(22, USA) Stanley leapt above Chiba for a month or so thanks to a run to the Acapulco(500) final - he's done treading water apparently and joining the upwards push. 25. Esteban Cortina(25, ESP) 26. Chalerm Prachaub(22, THA) A couple of early-season trips to 250 semis have Prachuab the third wheel now in the Edleman class. Svajnovic, not so much -- it's all he can do to stay in the Top 50 these days. 28. Jacek Andrejova(22, CZE) A new one here -- the Czech Republic perhaps making a return? It's almost all Challengers for young Jacek, so we'll see how well he sticks. 31. Chad Duncan(31, GBR) Down from 23rd already. Not all of the Brits finding it easy going here . 32. Prakash Mooljee(32, SRI) Sinking, but new management is focusing more on doubles. He's got himself back on the national team there at Chiba's expense. 34. Mike Rhodes(21, PHI) Holding just outside, although he was up to 32nd briefly. 390. Anil Mehul(43, SRI) Briefly made it back into the Top 100 with some good WTC doubles results. Holding in singles and now slipping to the lower futures tiers. And of course now less than two years to go for training. 105(J). Amrik Kasaravalli(16, SRI) Down 40 spots but it's not that unusual for juniors here. So far in tier-3 he has one final and a couple of QFs to show for it. I'm also experimenting with a new training approach with him. I'm going for a 'smoother' training path - more even skill/service at the start with the gap between them gradually widening. Based on what I've seen from other players(Sbai's struggles, big servers moving up quickly) I think this will help get through the challenger ranks a little better. No change to what I'll do for players once they reach the top, it's just a question of how best to do things while they are getting there. I'm also emphasizing clay a little more as that tends to decline in top player -- gotta practice where the best are and most of the year athat's on hardcourts. So we'll see how that works out.